Projectile.



H. s. FORBES.

PROJECTILE.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII AR- 5. i915. 1.,2?5,669.A Patented Aug. 13, 191s.

T55- Qa Wig@ i ba D l n FICE HARRY BENJAMIN FORBES, F OGDEN', UTAH.

PROJ ECTILE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

Application filed March 5, 1915. Serial No. 12,250.

To all Iwhom it may 'concern U BeV it known that I, YHARRY BENJAMIN iFORBES, a citizen of the United States. resident of Ogden, county oflVeber, State of Utah, have invented a certain new and usefulProjectile, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in projectiles and has for itsobject the provision for positively identifying the projectile and atthe same timewithout reducing the efficiency of the projectile either asto range or penetrability.

A further object is to produce a projectile which may be positivelyidentified `while within the body of the individual and without removalfrom the body.

The particular object I have in View is the production of a projectilewhich may be used b ofiicers of the law and which may be identi ed whilewithin the body of the person hit even after the wound has healed.

Further objects will more fully appear from the following specificationand accompanying drawings considered together or separately.

In the drawings,

Figures l to 6 inclusive are longitudinal sections of bullets embodyingmy invention;

Figs. 1al to 6a inclusive are skiagraph negatives obtained by therespective bullets illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive;

Fig.'7 is a section of a buckshot embodying my invention Fig. 7a is aperspective view of the core of thebuckshot illustrated in Fig. 7;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus used for making anegative of the projectile embedded in the human hand; and

Fig. 8a is a positive skiagraph showing the projectile illustrated inFig. l embedded in the flesh between the metacarpal bones of the thumband forefinger of the left hand.

In all views like parts are designated by the same reference charactersconsidered together or separately.

In carrying out my invention I make a projectile having internalcharacteristics by means of which its identity may be established bysuitable tests. These tests may be made by mechanical or chemical means,but preferably by means of those rays which act upon a sensitive plateto produce a skiagraph or which may produce an image on the iuoroscope.In its broadest aspects my improved projectile is of the conventional orusual outside form,v but with internal characteristics permitting readyand' certain identification. If the projectile `be made with a core anda surrounding sheath with grooves on the outside of the core, or insideof the sheath,v it is possible to so construct these grooves as toshape, size and number that a definite and certain character will beformed which will permit of absolute identification. If the core besurrounded with bands of the same or different material, the width,number or cross-section of such bands will form also accurateidentifying media. The shapes of the core or internal configuration ofthe sheath will permit equal certainty of identification. If the coreand sheath be made of different materials a still further number ofpermutations may be secured. Such a projectile may be identified bycutting it longitudinally or otherwise so that these identifying mediaare disclosed. I prefer, however7 to make the projectile identifiableutilizing those rays which will pass through the huma-n body and willact upon the sensitive plate or the screen of the fluoroscope. Theserays maybe the Rntgen or X-rays or various forms of radio active rayssuch as those of Becquerel. According to the principle of such rays theypass directly from their source to the plate or screen without beingdeflected by any intervening substance. Some materials offer a greaterobstruction to the passage of the rays than others. Lead is a materialwhich is cheap and abundant and acts very materially in arresting thepassage of the rays. Aluminum is an excellent substance offering arelatively small obstruction to the passage of the rays. Other materialshave a greater or lesser effect upon the passage of the rays. It isdesirable, however', to employ lead or an alloy thereof as thepredominant portion of the projectile as -it will be more like thecommercial bullet and will act substantially the same in the firearm,having the usual range and penetrability.

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 show a series of projectiles all of the same sizeand exterior configuration and each having a core of dierentconfiguration from each other.

In Fig. 1 `the projectile is composed of a,

core 1 formed of one material and a casing or sheathing E! formed ofanother material. -its examples of suitable materials, the core 1 maybe. made of lead and the casmg 2 of aluminum. Assuming that suchprojectile in the form of a bullet and enters the flesh between themetacarpa-l bones as shown in Fig. S, the positive skiagraph willindicate the out-line of the bullet as illustra-ted in Fig. S,

Fig. 1l illustrates on an enlarged scale the negative skiagraph showingby the light colored section the very inconsiderable passage of the raysthrough the lead, and the dark section the very considerable passage ofrays through the aluminum casing.

Figs. :2 to 6 inclusive show various examples` of indicating difl'eren'tprofiles of the core, or inner surface of the covering or sheath.

lu all the embodiments of the invention the outside shape of theproject-ile is the conventional one, so that itmay be used in anyfirearm without loss of efficiency.

In Fig. 2 the core is provided with a plurality of grooves and the coreis surrounded by aV easing of a. material which offers less obstructionto the passage of the rays than the core. The result would produce a.skiagraph nega-tive somewhat the same as illustrated in Fig. 2n.

In Fig. 3 the core is provided with ribs with inclined faces producinga. skiagraph negative somewhat as illustrated in Fig. 3th

In Fig. 4 the core is provided with grooves `and a casing surroundsthese grooves leav ing open spaces between the core and casing. Thiswill allow the maximum amount of rays to pass through them and as aresult the negative will be somewhatas illustrated in Fig. 4a.

In Fig. 5 the grooves are formed in the casing which will produce avnegative somewhat as shown in Fig. 5,

In the structure illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the projectile may bemade wholly of the same materiahfor example lead, or it may be made oftwo materials offering relatively great obstruction to the passage ofthe rays, such as a lead core and copper sheathing. If wholly of lead,nevertheless the rays will pass through the sheathing oppositethegrooves, as lead must be of material thickness, usually at least 1.5mm. to Whollyobstruct the rays.

In Fig. 6 the identification of the profile is obtained by changing theend, such end being sharp-pointed as shown, which will produce anegative as is illustrated in Fig. 6a.

Fig. 7a illustrates a core of lead forming the center ofv a buckshot,the spaces between the points of the core to make up the shot beingformed of aluminum or other material offering less obstruction. to thepassage of the rays. The configuration of the core is such that itscharacteristic shape may be observed from various angles. Y

From the illustrations it is apparent that the projectile may bemodified in very many wayf's without departing from the spirit of theinvention, so long as the skiagraph or liuoroscope shadow issufliciently characteristic to be identified. T o this end it issufficient t@ vary the shapes and proportions of the materials whichcomprise the projectile.

The number of parts of the projectile may be varied as'desired,YV forexample VwhileVY I show but two parts to each projectile each may bemade of three or more parts, and they may be made of lead, aluminum orcopper, or any other material which, if they offer different degrees ofobstruction to the passage of the rays, will produce a characteristicsluagraph or fiuoroscope image.

Fig. 8 illustrates the manner of taking a skiagraph. In the examplechosen for illustration, the Crookes tube 3 is placed above the plate 4,the hand containing the projectile being between the tube and the plateas shown. This will produce a negative from which a. positive somewhatsimilar to that illustrated in Fig. 8 may be produced.

Various substances may be. used for the making of the projectile.

The invention may also be employed not only for the taking of skiagraphsupon sensitive plates, but' also for direct examination oy means of thefiuoroscope.

The profile of a part of the projectile may be modified to an enormousdegree so as to make practically an endless number of profiles which mabe identified. nly certain profiles are il ustrated to show theprinciples of thel invention.

One very valuable feature of my invention is that a bullet may beidentified in the human body after the wound has been healed and withoutextracting thebullet.. lCriminals who may ne shot by an o'iicer oi' thelaw and receive a. bullet may temporarily escape capture until the woundhas healed, but according to my invention the person suspected uponbeing examined through the X-ray the identity of the bullet will beestablished. If each law ofiicer is supplied with bullets having thecertain internal characteristics so that they may be identified, thecriminal will be certainly identified as the individual Who was shot bythat particular officer.

In order to obviate the necessity of producing a large number ofprojectiles each capable of producing a different picture I prefer toprovide, for use in a Sta-te for example, one type for the militia, onefor the police, one for the sheriff and one for industrialorganizations, such as railway police. In case a person were struck byLavaca@ 'a bullet an X-ray examination would at once show whether or notthe wound had been inflicted by a peace oflicer and if so to whichbranch of the service he belonged and the place at which the shootingoccurred.

In the following claims I employ the term Rntgen ray but it is to beunderstood that any rays which pass in a straight direction throughflesh and bone and which are obstructed to a greater or less extent byother substances, may be employed, such as the various forms of radioactive rays.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I havedescribed the principle of my invention, together with the apparatuswhich I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but Idesire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merelyillustrative and that the invention may be carried out in other Ways.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A projectile having an outer casing and internal irregularities ofconfiguration capable of producing a skiagraph or fluoroscope image ofdistinctive characteristics.

2. A projectile having an inner core and an outer casing, with internalirregularities of one or both, the casing being composed of a materialhaving a greater degree of permeability to the passage of the Rntgen raythan the core, whereby a characteristic skiagraph or fluoroscope imagecan be produced.

3. A projectile composed of a plurality of substances poessing differentdegrees of permeability to the passage of the Rntgen ray, that substancepossessing the greater degree of permeability forming the exterior ofthe projectile.

4. A projectile composed of parts of different materials havingdifferent degrees of permeability to the passage of the Rntgen ray, theprofile of one part at least being irregular, that substance possessingthe greater degree of permeability forming the exterior of theprojectile.

5. A projectile composed of a core and a part surrounding the corecomposed of a material possessing a greater degree of permeability thanthe core to the passage of the Rntgen ray.

6. A projectile composed of a core having an irregular profile and apart surrounding the core composed of material possessing a greaterdegree of permeability to the passage of the Rntgen ray.

7. A projectile composed of a core of lead havingan irregular profilesurrounded by a casing of material having a greater degree ofpermeability to the passage of the Rntgen ray.

8. A projectile composed of a core of lead of irregular profile, and asurrounding casing of a regular and conventional profile, said casebeing composed of a material having a greater degree of permeability tothe pas sage of the Rntgen ray than the core.

9. A projectile composed of a plurality of substances possessingdifferent degrees of permeability to the passage of the Rntgen ray, thatsubstance having the greater degree of permeability to the ray beinglocated relatively to the other material so that the ray can passthrough the material of greater permeability Without passing throughtheV material of less permeability.

10. A projectile composed of a plurality. of materials one of whichpossessesa greater degree of permeability to the passage of the Rntgenray than the other, that ma terial having the less degree ofpermeability presenting a characteristic silhouette when viewed fromthree planes.

11. A projectile composed of a plurality of materials one of whichpossesses a greater degree of permeability to the passage of the Rntgenray than the other, that material having the less degree of permeabilitypresenting a characteristic irregular silhouette when viewed from threeplanes.

12. A spherical projectile composed of a plurality of materials one ofwhich possesses a greater degree of permeability to the passage of theRntgen ray than the other, that material having the less degree ofpermeability presenting a characteristic silhouette when viewed fromthree planes.

13. A spherical projectile composed of a plurality of materials one ofwhich possesses a greater degree of permeability to the passage of theRntgen ray than the other, that material having the less degree ofpermeability presenting a characteristic irregular silhouette Whenviewed from three planes.

14. A projectile having a casing of con- -ventional form, said casingbeing formed of a material containingaluminum, and a core formed of amaterial containing lead, said core being of such configuration as toproduce a skiagraph or fluoroscope image of distinctive characteristics.

15. A projectile having a casing of conventional form, said casing beingformed of aluminum, and a core formed of a material containing lead,said core being of such configuration as to produce a skiagraph orfiuoroscope image of distinctive characteristics.

16. A projectile having a casing of conventional form, said casing beingformed of a material containing aluminum, and a core formed of lead,said core being of such configuration as to produce a skiagraph orfluoroscope image of distinctive characteristics.

17. A projectile having' a. easing of conventional forni, said casingbeing foi-med of aluminum, and a core formed of lend, said core being ofsuch configuration as to pro- 5 duce a. skiagmph or fiuoroscope image ofdistinctive characteristics.

This specification signed and witnessed this 25 day of Feb., 1915.

HARRY BENJAMIN FORBES. Witnesses:

JNO. N. ERICKSON, JoNAs E. SEELY.

